William johnson



.To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM JOHNSON, OF MILVAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND EIBERTSCHUMACI-IER, OF SAME PLACE.

BANK-LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 24,975, dated August 2, 1859.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM JOHNSON, of the city ot lVilwaukee, in thecounty of Milwaukee and State of lVisconsin, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Bank and other Locks; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full and exact description of the saine, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters and marksthereon.

In constructing locks for bank vaults, safes, and other depositories oftreasure and valuable papers, it has become necessary to make them verystrong, inasmuch as burglars of late rely more upon forcing and breakingthe lock than upon picking it. The more complicated locks are usuallymade up ot many pieces, each piece necessarily being of itself weak andeasily broken, and no matter how complicated a lock may be if it made otseveral pieces it is easily forced or broken'. Still to a considerableextent we must rely upon a certain amount of complication for securityin locks; although all burglar-prooie locks must have strength andsolidity of structure as the great elements constituting` their value.In my invention I have endeavored to combine with a limited amount ofcomplicated arrangement, simplicity, and great strength; and in carryingout my invention I have adopted the class of locks wherein a certainnumber of disks or regulator wheels have to be placed in certain knownpositions in order that the tumblers may loe moved and the bolt beallowed to be thrown.

In the drawings forming part of this specication (C) indicates the caseof the lock; (B) the bolt; (T) the tumbler; (A, B, C) the disk, actingas guards or regulator wheels; (S) an operating disk or stop-cock wheel;(T) the stem of the indicator by which the cock wheel and guard disksare rotated; and (K) the key for moving the main bolt.

This lock has but one tumbler proper (T) which, as is shown by thedrawings, is of great strength and will resist very considerable forcewhether applied by pressure or by a stroke or blow. It is placed betweenthe shell or case-plate of the lock and the boltplate (a) and has theusual notches for the guiding studs, and has, also, a strong stump orstud (R) which fits into the recesses of the guard disks, and a smallerstud (b) l which fits into notches of the bolt-plate. It

will be seen that the central portion of the tumbler is cut away leavinga nearly circular space for the stop-cock wheel (S) and there isprojecting upward into this space three teeth or processes (c, c, 0,)which must tit into the spaces between the teeth ot the cockwheel whenthe tumbler is raised up preparatory to the movement of the bolt. Thestop-cock wheel (S) is a disk toothed entirely around its periphery and,by its attachment to the stem of the indicator, is made the operatingdisk to place the regulating wheels or guard plates in the properposition for the stump ot' the tumbler to enter the recesses in theguard plates that the tumbler may be elevated. A notch (N) in this diskreceives the head of the screw-pin (293,) of guard plate (C), by whichthe disk and the guard plate are connected to each other. A square holein the center of the disk (N) has fitted in it the end of the stem ofthe indicator by which it is rotated.

Figure 5 of the drawings shows three regulator wheels or guard plates(A, B, C) attached to their case (P, L,). Although but three such wheelsare here shown it is obvious that the number may be greater ifdesirable. A pin (D) the head of which is countersunk in plate (O)passes through the plates or wheels and through the plate of the case(P, L) whereV itis held by a nut (d). It will be seen that the plate (C)is held against the bars (G) of the case, that plate (B) tits int-oOrooves in the bars (G, G) and that plate A) has its traverse betweenthe bars (Gr, G) and the plate of the case. This arrangement of theseguard plates gives each of them very full and complete protection andvery firm support. Each of these plates or wheels have a certain numberof holes, twelve, as shown by the drawings but which can be of a greateror less number, and are provided each with a-.screw-pin the heads andpoints of which are the operatinof means of the one plate by the other',as wil be not-iced thus the head of pin (793) fitting into the notch (N)ot cock-wheel (S) and its point hitting against the head of pin (p2) andthe point of pin (722) hitting against the head of pin (p3) the rotationof the one plate or wheel carries with it the other plates or wheels andby the proper movements thereof the whole number of the plates arebrought into the re quired position vfor allowing the movement of thetumbler. The amount or extent of this movement of the plates or wheelswill depend upon the position of the pins, as will readily be perceived.These pins can easily be taken out of any one set of holes in theplates, as they are screw-pins, and be placed in other holes, thusallowing of changes in position and in the relation of the one pin tothe other to a very great degree.

The position to which the plates or wheels (A, B, O) must be brought,when the pins are arranged and that arrangement noted, will be indicatedby the dial plate upon the door, or properly in the door, as will now benamed. By the figures of the drawings two modes are shown of afixing thedial to the doop-Fig. l representing that now commonly practiced thedial plate being fitted' upon the door, and figures (D, P3) and (D, P4)showing my improved mode the dial being made on the door. These figuresare designed to represent so much of the door as is occupied by thedial, the figures and letters and lines, or whatever marks may be usedto indicate, being cut or engraved in the door itself, no plate beingused whatever. This entirely'remedies a weakness which has alwaysheretofore existed with burglar proof safes as when the dial is a platefitted into or attached to the door the burglar by knocking or forcingit out or off made an opening which gave him easy access to the interiorof the lock and safe. By making the indicating marks in the substance ofthe door, the opening for the stem being small, the interior of the lockcan not be reached. And as a further means of guarding this point, itwill be perceived, that I make the indicator stemY tapering or conical(e) and bevel the periphery (f) of the extension piece of it which fitsinto the door while I also form this extension piece and the stem, in

fact, the whole of the projecting or actuating stem of one solid pieceof metal. The beveled edge of the extension piece and the tapering formof the stem both guard against their being driven inwardly and everyblow upon them serves to make firmer in the hole and space of the doorat and through which the burglars efforts are directed. The figures andmarks upon the dial corresponding with those of the plates, in order toadapt the one to the other it is only necessary to select the holes forthe screw-pins and to note the relation that exists between the parts.As will be seen by referring to figure (D, 133,) there is an indicatingline (g) on the face of the stems extension piece. Under theexplanations of the construction of this lock here given its operationwill now, readily, be understood.

As shown by the drawings pin (P) of plate or wheel (A) is in hole 31j,pin (P2) ,of plate (B) is in hole 11, and pin (P3) of plate (C) isin'hole 5. Now'you first turn the indicator around from the right to theleft three times stopping with theindicator line (g) at 3115, thusbringing the pins of the different plates properly into position. Havingthus stopped at 3% you reverse the motion turning from the left to theright one entire revolution and so much of another as will bring theline (g) to 11, and from that turn the indicator directly back to thesemovements will place the recesses in the perpheries of th'e'regulatorwheels or plates over the stud or stump (R) of the tumbler, and theteeth (c, c, c) Wof the tumbler in line with the spaces between theteeth of the cock wheel (S) and by turning the key (K) the tumbler willbe lifted and the bolt be given motion.

It -will be noticed that without knowing the position of the pins in theplates no motion can be given the bolt, and that all the usual effortsmade by lock piekersto ascertain-the condition of the guardlates andtumblers by thrust on the end o the bolt, will be resisted by the key(K) bearing against the recessed face of the lock plate, and by the stud(ZJ) of the tumbler; these two resisting points being well arranged tosustain each other. It will, also, be noticed that the regulator wheelsor guard plates are carefully and very completely protected by theircase.

Having thus fully set out the construction and operation of myimprovements what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentisl. Operating the regulator wheels or guard-plates by the screw-pinswhich are susceptible of being changed in the holes of the plates and inrelation to each other as herein set forth.

2. I claim the tapered indicators stem and beveled plate of the stemfitting into the tapered recesses as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In combination with a series of regulator wheels or guard platesoperated as described, I claim the means for indicating the position ofsuch plates constructed and are ranged as set forth.

4L. I claim the cock-wheel or toothed disk in combination with thetumbler and the regulator wheels or guard plates as described.

This specification signed at Milwaukee, Wisconsin this 525th day of June1859.

WILLIAM JOHNSON.

